With one game remaining and two games behind the 10th place team in the 11-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Savannah State Tigers already know their fate for the 2012 football season.

But the Tigers still have an agenda for their finale Saturday in Orangeburg, S.C., against South Carolina State.

“We’re not taking the approach that there’s nothing to play for,” SSU coach Steve Davenport said. “It’s an opportunity for a football player to go play football. For some of our kids, it’s the last time they’ll put a helmet on. But the love of the game is what you really play for, and we have one more opportunity to get that done as a unit.”

The Tigers (1-9, 0-7 MEAC) will be looking for a conference victory and a chance to double their win total of 2011.

And, of course, Davenport and his coaching staff will be looking for players to build on for the future.

“You want to see who will fight with something on the line,” Davenport said. “We’ve prepared as hard for this game as we have any other game. We want to go out on a positive note. We want to win this game.”

Injury report

Davenport said offensive lineman Elijah Watson, who hadn’t played in six weeks because of a concussion, was cleared to play.

Linebacker Anthony Moss, who hadn’t played since Florida State during the second week of the season, and offensive lineman Caleb Freeman, who missed last week, will return to the lineup.

About SCSU

It’s been a disappointing year for South Carolina State, which has won the MEAC regular-season title three times and tied for second twice in the last five years.

The Bulldogs are just 4-6 overall, 3-4 in league play, heading into Saturday’s game.

SCSU took sound early-season beatings from Arizona (56-0) and Texas A&M (70-14) and never recovered until later in the season when the Bulldogs posted back-to-back wins against two of the better teams in the league, Florida A&M and Howard, before slipping up against North Carolina A&T last week.

Maybe inconsistent South Carolina State has taken a cue from senior quarterback Richard Cue, who threw for a school-record 419 yards and four touchdowns against Howard, then just 79 yards in the loss to A&T.

This and that

Savannah State seniors linebacker Travis Alston, defensive linemen James Briscoe and Terrance Williams, running back Antonio Proctor and offensive lineman Cedric Brown will be playing their final game. … Vaughn Cornelia and Williams led the Tigers in tackles last Saturday against Bethune-Cookman with 14 and 13 stops respectively.

SSU ranks third in the FCS with an 18.2-yard punt return average. The Tigers have returned only five punts, but for 91 yards.